Page 32

She looked up with a fake, bewildered expression. I lowered a stern brow at her.

“Rafi, you know what happened to your mom. She died in a car accident on the way home from the store. We spread her ashes out at Dante Fell. Don’t put yourself through this. This is an emotional time, but I’m here for you, and I’m not leaving.”

My posture slumped in disappointment. She spoke so clearly and confidently about Mom’s death, I was silently kicking myself for hoping she might be alive.

“I thought you might want to explore the town. I’ve got some washing to do, but you could go on your own. There is just one main road, so you can’t get too lost. Don’t go past the town on either side, and you probably noticed that each side of town is bordered by thick forest. Those trees with the emerald-green fingered leaves are hydra trees. If you cut one down⁠—”

“Two more grow back in its place,” I answered.

Raina’s face popped up. “Clever girl. The ancestors tried to expand the village to the north and south, but those darn trees thought otherwise. Still, we have a nice little village, and I think you’ll enjoy the walk. I assume you have your anklet.”

“It’s under my boot. The man, Elgar, told me not to take it off. What’s it for?”

“Hmm?” she asked airily. “Oh, it’s something everyone wears.” Her tone turned dry. “What number are you?”

“Uh, 192.” I leaned over and looked at her ankle. Sure enough, right above her flat shoes was an anklet. It was cutting into her stocky ankle, and it looked as if it had been there for a long time. “What number are you?” I asked even though I had no idea what it meant.

“I’m 32.” She smiled. “I’ve been around for a while.”

“I assume it’s like a social security system, to keep track of taxes or population?”

Raina’s cheeks rounded. “Yes, something like that.” She glanced out the window. “Oh, there’s a touch of warm sun shining through. You should go explore. Just don’t venture far. When you come back, we can go through the trunk to see what other clothes might fit you.”

I was actually quite eager to see the town. I’d hoped that Lyric would drop by first, but I was sure she was spending time with her family, and I couldn’t blame her. She’d been sitting on my shelf for many years. I still couldn’t believe my three dear friends did that to protect me. And thinking about friends made my chest tighten. Poor Paxton would be beside himself wondering what’d happened to me.

Raina came out of her bedroom. “You’ll want this warm shawl.” She draped it over my shoulders and pulled it shut around me. “Now, I have a basket of herbs for you to take to my friend, Tildy. You can’t miss her. She wears a lavender bonnet, and her cart will be overflowing with sweet cakes. Worlo, her tall and lanky son, will be with her. He’s a sweet boy but rather simple.” Raina waved her hand. “Anyway, she’s easy to spot. Give her the herbs, and she’ll give you two cakes in return. We can eat them tonight after supper.” Raina walked me to the door. “Most people will be shy when they see you. After all, you left here as a baby. Stay out of the gulley. It’s slick with moss and loose rocks.”

I took the basket of herbs. They smelled peppery and fragrant. About half looked familiar. I took a deep breath and pulled the shawl higher on my shoulders. “Here I go. Let the adventure begin. I can’t believe how much my life has changed in just a few days.”

Raina patted my cheek. “Don’t forget the cakes.”

“Trust me, I’m not the type of person who needs to hear the words ‘Don’t forget the cakes.’”

I stepped outside and was slightly taken aback. I had no idea why I thought the air would feel and smell the same. The briny odor I’d smelled yesterday clung to the air, but there was less humidity and fewer clouds in the sky. Still, it felt entirely different than the human world. Norvale felt ancient and storied and untouched by industry. I couldn’t believe how freeing it was not to carry a phone.

I walked down the stone path. The orange, rather droopy flowers Austri’s cousin, Beva, planted the day before now stood tall and proud in their new place in the garden. It reminded me that my poor flowers would probably die from thirst, and the critters would move on to a better garden.

I reached a spot that gave me a pretty good view of my surroundings. The land was flat, so it wasn’t ideal, but from where I stood, I could see the town. It stretched out on each side of the deep gulley and rolled on until it smacked right into the hydra-tree forests on each side. A few bridges had been built to connect the two sides of the village. Most buildings, both houses and shops, were single-story, squat and built of stone and other natural materials. The hydra trees cast what appeared to be a permanent shadow over all the shops and houses.

I headed across a stone bridge that arched in the middle. It looked like a miniature version of the one in Dante Fell. All the time I’d used that bridge, I had no idea it was built by my ancestors, the Valian. It was a clever and easy way to keep humans from wandering between the cliffs and landing in the Ironfall Wilds.

Raina’s cottage was on the south side of the gulley, but most of the shops and sellers were on the north. It was much busier on the northern side. People and carts and unenthusiastic donkeys passed me as I walked along admiring the wares. One shop window was stocked high with candles. Their waxy odor streamed out to the street. A sign with the words Mya’s Drapers painted on it hung precariously from thin pieces of frayed rope. It swayed back and forth in the mild breeze. The windows were filled with fabrics, bags of flour and crudely hammered pots and pans. Another shop displayed bows and arrows—none as fine as Madigan’s—alongside knives and axes. The sight of the axes pushed my mind back to Revel, a new acquaintance I was trying hard to forget. He had, however, come in very handy for the trip across the Wilds.

A shop painted in mustard yellow claimed to have “all the needs for healers and for whatever ails you.” A pungent smell wafted from a cart overflowing with animal hides and leather, much like the ones that both Austri and Revel wore. In front of each shop was a post with a bell on the end. I assumed it was part of their lookout system.

People smiled cautiously at me. Many watched me surreptitiously from behind their carts and under the brims of their bonnets and hats. No one said hello. Raina had warned me that would be the case. I counted twelve towers, six on each side, and on three of them, men stood at the very top. Each man stood next to a large bell and clutched a metal spyglass in one hand. Oddly enough, they were all looking in one direction. It didn’t seem like a great lookout plan. I stretched up and looked in the direction their spyglasses were pointed. I fell back on my heels with surprise. They were staring at a vast stretch of ocean that looked black and unfriendly under the cloudy sky. An occasional whitecap rolled toward land, but with the way Raina had described it, I expected to see a wild, churning body of water.

As Raina said, Tildy, the cake seller, was easy to spot and smell. A pleasant burnt sugar aroma wafted my direction. Her lavender hat stood out like, well, lavender in the middle of an otherwise gray field. Her cheeks were rosy, like Raina’s, and her brown eyes were warm and friendly. Worlo, her son, stood so tall, he had to hunch over to hear his mom talk. He was so thin, his shoulders stuck out like a clothes hanger under his shirt.

Tildy looked up from her task of rearranging some of the cakes on her cart. They were double-tiered treats with some kind of red fruit between the layers and a sugar glaze on top. Her smile was polite and friendly.

“Hello, dearest, are those Raina’s herbs?”

I’d nearly forgotten the basket. I stuck my arm out. “Yes, and she gave me strict instructions to bring back two cakes.”

“I’ll pick out the two biggest ones,” Tildy said.

I smiled up at Worlo. His shoulders were shyly hunched forward, and his face turned pink. He nodded and smiled back.